


Pisces of the Shore

by Kiunlo



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big fluffy doggo, Bigotry & Prejudice, Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Dogs, Fantastic Racism, Human/Orc Relationships, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Many mentions of Fish, Orc Culture, Petting a Dog, Slight language barrier due to a very heavy accent, Theramore joins the horde, Wolves, Worker Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-06-03 20:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19471786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiunlo/pseuds/Kiunlo
Summary: After some very questionable actions of betrayal are committed by the Alliance, Theramore has no choice but to side with the Horde.The citizens of Theramore and the people of the Horde alike do their best to get along, but things were never easy before, so why would they be easy now?Told in the perspective of an overworked human fisherman, a disgruntled orcish hunter, and the fluffiest dog that has ever existed.





	1. Seasalt

**Author's Note:**

> This AU has consumed my entire ass and I apologise for absolutely nothing.
> 
> Details about how Theramore joined the Horde are vague and up to the reader's interpretation since I intend on focusing more on how the citizens of Theramore are coping with this odd, new situation that they find themselves in.
> 
> I give credit to Howlingmadness on tumblr for being the person who started this AU, but also a huge shoutout to Jaina_Pridemoore here on ao3. They wrote a fanfic also based on this AU (called Frostfire) which is what initially gave me the inspiration to write this fic ♡

They were staring at him.

He was always being stared at. Always being talked about in hushed whispers behind his back, where they thought he couldn't hear them.

He'd gotten used to it. He tried not to think about it too much.

But every morning, when he got up out of his slightly-too-small bed to take his wolf out on a walk for a good bit of exercise, it would annoy him just a little bit more.

 _They're supposed to be my allies. We're supposed to work together, we’re supposed to have_ **_common ground_** _._

It was quite obvious to him that he had _nothing_ in common with any of the people he was surrounded by. But if he didn't at least _try_ to find something in common with them, things would never change.

He wondered if things ever _would_ change. It was entirely possible that humans and other races of the Horde would never get along, ever.

 _Well, I won't know if I don't_ **_try_ ** _to make a change._

He decided was going to challenge himself. The next human he saw (that preferably _wasn't_ a guard), he'd speak to. He'd say hello, and try to make _some_ sort of conversation to break the ice.

When he finally came across one of the locals on his walk one day, and spoke to them, he realised just what a _mistake_ he'd made. He saw their normally pink skin become very pale, like they’d fallen ill. Their icy blue eyes went wide, and their body seemed to be frozen in shock. For a moment he genuinely thought he’d somehow caused them to go into shock, or perhaps even made them _paralysed_ simply by saying ‘Hi’.

“Hello? Are you still alive?”

The human said nothing for a few more seconds before they seemed to come out of their shocked state, blurting out a sentence that they had _not_ properly thought through.

"I-I...I didn't know that..o-orcs could speak Common..!"

He was silent for all of 30 seconds in utter bafflement before he realised _he needed to say something back._

"Of _course_ I speak Common! What kind of orc would I be if I moved into a city whose official language I couldn't understand?"

The human merely whimpered and apologised profusely before going back to sweeping the cobblestone street, completely ignoring him and physically distancing themselves from him in the hopes that they would be left alone.

The next day, he tried to talk to the human again, but the moment they saw him, they quickly made themselves scarce.

Well, that _obviously_ wasn't going to work.

...In hindsight, he _had_ gotten a bit defensive...and a little bit loud, too. He also towered over the human by a few feet at _least_ , and he'd had his hulking wolf by his side. He must have looked _incredibly_ intimidating to the pale little human. Which was a good thing on the battlefield, but not here in Theramore. He wasn't supposed to be intimidating the humans of Theramore.

_They're our allies._

And yet he still felt that he was being treated like a savage beast incapable of kindness or gentleness.

He huffed to himself, and he looked over to the panting mass of white fur beside him. How could he be an unkind, savage beast and still raise a wolf to be as loyal, honourable and filled with unconditional love like the one that was currently by his side?

The wolf in question wagged her tail at him and sniffed up his torso until she got to his face, where she began to fiercely lick him. He laughed out loud at the affection that tickled his face and neck, and there was no doubt in his mind that the human that had promptly fled him had heard his hearty laugh.

He gave his wolf a good scratch right behind her ears.

 **_One_ ** _day they'll realise I'm not a beast._

* * *

The ocean waves had been a lot less intense and aggressive that morning than they had been days prior.

Trying to catch crustaceans in the shallows with your bare hands before the sun had even come up was a lot less fun when the sea was mercilessly pelting waves at your waist. But today he was not fishing for any crabs or lobsters. No, he would be going out on his father’s sailboat this time, looking for trout. The weather was actually nice for once, and some of the other fishermen had been speaking about a school of Mithril Head Trout they claimed to have seen a bit further south of the city than they were usually spotted.

Despite the calmer seas, he knew that this fishing journey would still be a difficult task. Knowing that he would be doing it alone and would have to catch a very particular amount of fish in only a fraction of the time that he would _actually_ need only served to make him more stressed. The fact that it was four in the morning and the sun had a few more hours before it actually rose really didn't help matters, but that had been his life for a few years now, so he had no reason to start complaining about it _now._

It was obvious that he was overworked and stressed to the bone, but with only himself and his father keeping their small stall in the market that sold fish in business, he really didn't have much of a choice.

And with the arrival of the Horde, came the sudden appearance of a rival business, as well. Which had more fishermen _and_ fresh, imported fish from Durotar that couldn't be caught anywhere near Theramore.

How _lovely._

The only thing he had going for him was that he knew these parts better than any outsider would, whether they were an orc _or_ a human. He knew where the best fishing spots where, he knew the best techniques, and if it was _absolutely necessary_ he could catch the fish with his bare hands. He was the one person keeping this family business alive.

He didn’t blame his father for not being able to do much sailing or fishing anymore, especially at his age, and he understood fully that without his father he would not be the great fisherman that he was without his guidance, but the business was _doomed_ to fail. There were no additional fishermen to help them with their daily tasks and they didn’t have enough money to hire any additional fishermen either because the amount of money they _did_ make was spent to feed his father’s addiction to _whiskey_.

And with a rival business suddenly popping up, with more variety in fish, more workers who are paid fairly and with an owner who _isn’t_ a right prick, it seemed quite inevitable that their own business would fall.

He tried not to think about his impending financial doom when he headed south in his father’s boat. He didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good fishing session with grim thoughts.

* * *

He'd had to stop fishing far earlier than he'd liked. He hadn't caught as many fish as he knew he'd need, but he wasn't about to risk his own safety for just a _few_ more fish.

The waves had become more aggressive, and in the distance a storm could be seen coming in from the sea, westbound. It'd come completely out of nowhere, but it really didn't surprise him. The past few days had been just as stormy.

He came into the docks as quickly and as safely as he could with the waves rocking his boat and the wind blowing with more vigour and violence than it had before.

It didn't take him much time to move the fish he had caught from the sailboat all the way to the market. He'd only been gone for 3 hours and had caught a decent amount of fish, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Not for his father, at least.

 _Usually_ he would catch as many fish as he could, and once there wasn't enough room for anymore fish on the sailboat, he'd come back to shore to unload them for his father to sell in the market and then he'd be off again to catch more fish. He would do this until the day ended, go to sleep completely exhausted, and wake up the next morning at 3 am to do it all over again.

At this point, he'd be almost _glad_ if the business failed. At least then he could get some actual rest for once.

“Ye back _already,_ Tom? Well, that was bloody quick. Let me see what ye caught, then.”

Tom unloaded the fish from the cart he was carrying them in, laying them out on the large table for his father to inspect. “They’re all mostly Mithril Head Trout, but I caught a few cod as well; Rockscale to be specific.”

“And that’s _all_?”

Great. His father was scrutinising him. _Again._

“Yes, that’s _all_. If I stayed out there any longer the waves would have swept me _and_ ye bloody sailboat away. I won’t be able to catch anything for the rest o’ the day ‘til this storm lets up.”

His father sighed, and Tom knew he was in for a _fantastic_ day of being criticised and yelled at until he could go out fishing again.

“Well if ye can’t focking fish, _yer_ gonna sit here and sell these bloody fish instead. Don’t bother me ‘til the storm lets up or ‘til the day is bloody over.” And with that, his father hobbled away without another word to let him deal with the fish sales.

At least he wouldn’t have to deal with his father’s shite. _And_ he’d be getting a well earned break from being on the water, for once.

As far as _he_ was concerned, it was a win-win for him.

* * *

He loved his wolf very, very much. She was intelligent, she knew who was trustworthy and who wasn't before _he_ knew, and she was very aware of the emotions of those around her. She was fearless and strong, and she was the best an orc could ever ask for in a wolf.

However, she had a very _bad_ habit of going on walks without him.

In _Orgrimmar_ , there was never an issue with that. Wolves went on walks by themselves all the time, mostly so they could meet up with their other wolf friends, or get free food and endless amounts of love and affection from anybody that they approached. He had no problem with it in Orgrimmar. He knew that his wolf would be safe, and other citizens of Orgrimmar knew she wasn’t a danger or a menace to society. It was completely fine and considered normal.

The same could not be said for Theramore.

He knew that the humans feared him and his wolf, but as long as he looked like he was in control of his wolf in public, they mostly ignored her.

But knowing that she would be walking the streets of Theramore by _herself_ , where he had _no idea_ how the locals would react to her without the presence of her orcish owner made him very concerned. What if someone provoked her? What if she tried to interact with someone and they screamed or yelled, prompting the guards to attack? What if she tried to chew on something that should _not_ be chewed on? What if she ate somebody's pet _cat?_

He was not normally a nervous orc. He felt no anxiety before a battle, he had no problems getting into debates with people that were intimidating or had a higher rank than him (though he still showed as much respect as could be given), and nor did he get paranoid about what some _humans_ said about him behind his back.

However, the knowledge that his trusted companion could possibly be in a type of danger that could have serious consequences _besides_ just death for everyone involved _truly_ scared him.

He had to find her, and quickly.

* * *

Poofy white fur flapped in the wind that came in from the east as a large wolf trotted down the streets of Theramore.

It smelled very different here than in the hot desert that she used to call home. The creatures here were different, too; small and reeking of nervous energy. They didn't pet her, nor did they give her any food. They didn't even _call_ for her, or pay her any attention whatsoever. Some of them even _recoiled_ at her presence.

She didn't like this place at all. This place was _very_ weird. She started sniffing the ground to learn more.

She sniffed _everything_ she came across, new stories and events being told to her through her nose as the scents filled her lungs. She could smell the urine of some creature that had marked its territory not too long ago. The ground told the tale of another wolf who had walked these same smooth stones only a few days ago.

There were many stories that were told on the ground, on the walls, inside containers and through the windows of creature's dens.

Her ears perked up at the sudden sound of birds cawing at her. She looked up to see a black bird and its friend hanging out on large wooden pole. They were looking at her curiously. One of them flew closer to inspect her. She stared back at them, sniffing the air to see if their black feathers told stories.

They smelled like they had been eating rotting flesh.

She turned away and kept walking. She sniffed for new smells, looking for something to entrance her.

The pungent smell of sea water was something she had gotten used to pretty quickly, but the more she walked east, the stronger that particular smell became.

When she'd _first_ arrived here with her master, the smell of sea water almost overpowered her senses to the point of becoming an everyday nuisance. Trying to sniff for any other kind of smell became almost impossible when all she could smell was _salt._ Salt, salt and _more_ salt.

Right now, however, she did not smell salt.

She could smell _fish._ A _lot_ of fish.

She ran. Her legs took her where her nose guided her, and she passed by some _very_ terrified creatures along the way. She almost wanted to turn back, to sniff out the reason _why_ they were scared, but the smell of wiggly, slippery _fish_ had assaulted her senses. She was not going to turn back now.

She loved fish. So much. She loved fish _so,_ **_so much_**. She could almost taste them in her mouth.

She was drooling as she ran.

She was definitely getting closer to the fish now, and when she knew she was _really_ close, she'd found herself in a place that was _rife_ with all _sorts_ smells. Many of the small, nervous creatures walked around carrying many different foods that were distracting her from her original target.

 _Hunt fish._ **_Eat_ ** _fish._

She trotted towards the direction of the fishy smell, and she walked by a creature she was _familiar_ with. The ones like her master. They pet her on her head as she greeted them, being cooed at in their language that she was so familiar with. She almost felt like she was back in the desert; back _home_ . She _wanted_ to stay there and be pet under her chin forever, but she was still very aware of the scent of fish.

Maybe she would come back later for more pets.

She gave the nice creature a few good licks before leaving to find the fish. No more distractions, now. Only fish.

She very quickly found the fish, but there was a slight problem.

One of the small creatures was protecting them. Claiming ownership of the fish. Like how the nice creatures of the desert protected their meat.

But she knew how to convince them to give her some of their food. She was an _expert_ at conning creatures out of their food.

She sat down in front of the table that all the nice, yummy fish were laid down upon. She _could_ just take the fish and run, but the last time she'd done that, her master had been _very_ upset with her. Licking him, whining at him and exposing her belly was not enough to get him to forgive her. He'd ignored her for half the day as punishment.

She'd learned her lesson.

Simply _taking_ the fish was not okay. She had to get the creature to _give_ it to her.

It wasn't looking at her though. It seemed to be doing something behind the table. She needed to get his attention.

" _ **BOOF**_ ** _!_** "

Tom's entire soul left his body.

He turned around slowly, only to become witness to the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen with his own two eyes.

The most ginormous wolf he had _ever_ seen in his life sat in front of his fish stall, staring at him with yellow eyes that pierced into his soul. Long, thick, white fur blew in the wind, making it look more like a cloud than an animal.

It's tusks- like the ones he'd seen on the orcs that walked by his stall- poked out from it's bottom jaw, pointing up and outwards. They looked about as sharp as a warriors blade.

It drooled puddles of saliva on the ground. It licked it's chops.

_Oh by the **Light** , it's going to eat me. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not revealing names of characters until other characters end up saying their name in the story, because idk I feel like it makes things a bit more interesting. also i can do what i want lol
> 
> I'm also sorry if the chapters are kind of short. I've never been good at making my fics long lmao


	2. Fish Obsessed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom is continuously pestered by a fish-obsessed wolf. The orcish owner of said wolf does his best to not lose his sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really sorry if this chapter sucks lmao i tried

Tom had to admit, of all the customers he had expected to show up to his fish stall, he'd not expected to be seeing a _wolf_ any time soon.

Well, maybe not a wolf that was by itself, at least.

He’d quickly learnt that the wolf did _not_ in fact want to eat him, but rather, she wanted to eat his _fish_. If her whining and literal puppy-dog eyes was anything to go off of, she was _very_ interested in his fish.

He did his best to ignore her presence for the first few minutes that she sat there. There was no way in hell he would be giving away free fish just because a wolf that showed up to his stall was begging for it. Unless she was somehow carrying _gold_ on her fluffy body, she couldn't have any...

...Alright, it wasn't like Tom didn't _want_ to give some fish to the wolf, it's just that if he did, his father _would_ absolutely know about it. That man was _incredibly_ meticulous about the pricing of the fish they sold, and the profit that was made each day. He'd _know_ if the amount of fish left at the end of the day and how much money they'd made didn't properly match up. He'd be in the deepest shite if his father found out.

But still the wolf persisted, whining more and wagging her tail, _huffing_ at him.

He had to admit: although she'd initially terrified him, her behaviour made her seem _very_ cute.

He reached his hand out to her, _slowly_ , to let her sniff him like how he would for an actual dog. She inspected the appendages, sniffing the back of his hand- over the small, pale fingers- and then over the palm of his hand. She seemed content with his scent, so he decided to risk a few pats, hoping that she wouldn't decide to bite his hand off.

He gently pet the side of her cheek, and- _thankfully-_ she didn't seem to mind. It was when he reached up to scratch her ears that it looked like she was actually starting to enjoy the pets she was receiving.

Tom was almost glad that the wolf's presence was warding off customers, as it just gave him more time to pet her. She was _unbelievably_ _fluffy_ ; the amount of fur she had around her neck made her look more like a lion than a wolf, and he was sure that she wouldn't have looked so large if she was furless.

He carefully reached under the wolf's chin to scratch her neck, and she lifted her head up so she could get more scritches. Her eyes were closed in contentment, and Tom could quite literally pet her all day if he had no responsibilities to attend to. He realised that he'd have to find some way to get her to _shoo_ , but it didn't seem like there were any other options besides just _giving_ her the damn fish.

As Tom was petting the wolf, he was suddenly _very_ aware that there were eyes on him. He'd been paying so much attention to the furry, white behemoth in front of him that he'd failed to realise- until just then- that people had been staring at him interact with a wolf that quite obviously belonged to an _orc_.

He was usually fine with being stared at by other humans, most people thought he was a bit weird anyway considering his rather _thick_ accent, so staring was no issue. Humans were bashful anyway, so the moment they were caught staring, they looked away.

But Tom wasn't just being stared at by humans.

He had _orcish_ eyes on him. _Troll_ eyes. They were staring at a human _petting an orc's wolf like it was nothing_.

To them, he must have looked absolutely _bonkers_.

Tom ceased the petting at once, but he still had the problem of trying to figure out how to make the wolf _go away_.

There was no chance he was going to ask any of the orcs or trolls that were close by to move the wolf for him, because he was still _quite_ awkward around other members of the Horde (but then again, what human or dwarf _wasn't_?), so he would have to do this himself.

The idea of just giving the wolf what it wanted was really starting to sound like the only viable option, at this point.

The wolf whined again, sniffing one of the fish curiously and then looking back up at him.

He was still being stared at.

At this point, if he didn’t give her a fish _soon_ , not only would she _not_ go away, but he’d look like an _absolute prick_ to the trolls and orcs that were looking at him, judging his actions.

He sighed and prayed to the Light that his father could forgive him.

Tom grabbed one of the trout, and the wolf’s change in behaviour was immediate. She sat up straighter, and stilled with determination and focus. He reached over the stall to hand the fish to her, and she grabbed it with a gentleness that he associated with only the oldest and most patient of dogs. She finally stood up and walked away, going up to one of the nearby orcs so she could receive more affection.

The other orcs and trolls that had been staring at him seemed pleased at the outcome. He made brief eye contact with one of the orcs, purely on accident. They gave him a small smile.

Tom blushed and looked away.

* * *

He hadn’t been able to find his wolf on his own.

Trying to look for a big white wolf in a human city smaller than Orgrimmar was something he thought was going to be easy, but as he found out, that was _not_ the case at all.

In Orgrimmar, the majority of the streets were still lined with sand and dirt, making it easy to tell who was where with the footprints that were left behind. The wolves of Orgrimmar also had what orcs back home called a ‘wolf-highway’, so finding a particular wolf wasn’t so difficult when they all usually followed the same path, and went the same direction.

Theramore’s streets, on the other hand, were not lined with sand or dirt, but _stone_. Stone, which left _no_ footprints.

There was certainly no wolf-highway to speak of, either.

It _should_ have been easy, it should have taken him at least ten or twenty minutes to find her, but he’d been searching the entire city for an _hour_ and he’d still found no trace of her at all. It had gotten to the point where he’d been asking _any_ passer-by he saw if they’d seen a big, white wolf walk by. He’d even enlisted the help of one of his friends, hoping that the taller tauren would be able to help him cover more ground.

As expected, most humans, dwarves and elves refused to say anything to him, even as he asked them if they’d seen a lone wolf walking down the street. A few orcs had said they’d seen her walk towards the direction of the docks, but when he went down to check if she was still there, he had found nothing.

He really didn’t want to start yelling out her name so early in the morning and disturb the peace, but he really wasn’t being given many options at this point. He had to find her before she got herself into trouble he couldn’t get her out of.

“ ** _Kal’Grok_** _!_ Get back here, you mischievous dog!”

Nothing. Just as he’d expected.

He tried again.

“Kal! Come here, **_now_** _!_ ”

Still nothing. He was truly starting to think that maybe Kal had run outside the city, to go frolic in the marsh and splash around in muddy, crocolisk infested water.

_It wouldn’t be the first time she’s done that._

He didn’t think it would be the last time, either. Kal was a trickster, through and through. She might've been an intelligent and caring wolf that gave him (and everyone else) all the love in the world, but Kal did whatever _she_ wanted, and if she wanted to run five laps around the entirety of Orgrimmar and cause a howl-riot among all the other wolves in the entire city...then so be it.

Other orcs may say that he didn’t have an ounce of control over her; he believed that to inhibit a wolf’s natural instincts, was to prevent a wolf from _being_.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of galloping. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d say it sounded like a horse with unhealthily-soft hooves, but he knew that sound _anywhere_ , on _any_ surface.

Kal’Grok- the Fluffiest of Durotar- came running up to him with a big ‘ol fish in her mouth, like she _hadn’t_ been missing all morning. Like her master _hadn’t_ been looking for her, and calling out her name, and stressing about all the bad things that could’ve happened to her.

“You silly dog...where did you get that? Did you catch that fish yourself, or did you _steal_ it like last time?” He asked, his voice lacking true scrutiny. He wasn’t _really_ mad a her, he just didn’t like it when she decided to run off for hours on end, _especially_ in such a foreign place like Theramore.

Kal only looked at him with a big grin on her face. She looked proud of the fish she had...acquired. He still didn’t yet know _how_ she’d acquired it, but she’d obviously wanted to _show_ it to him first before she ate it.

He gave her some good pats on the head to let her know he wasn’t mad at her, and that she'd done a good job.

“Come on then, we’re going home. You’ve already gone on your morning walk _and_ caught your breakfast, cheeky thing.”

For once, Kal was content to follow behind, as she gnawed on the fish in her mouth.

* * *

Tom had been quite lucky that at the end of the day, his father decided not to pay that much attention to how much money they'd made.

He didn't know if it was because his father was too tired or pissed off at him to care, or if it was because he was too _drunk_ to properly absorb any important information, but Tom hadn't been reprimanded for any gold or silver that had gone missing.

Yet.

He was sure that in the morning, when the alcohol had mostly worn off, that his father would read the profit made and realise something was wrong. Hopefully Tom would already be out on the water before he came to that realisation.

For now, all he wanted to do was rest, and maybe finish another chapter of the book he'd been reading before he had to go to bed.

He'd deal with the repercussions of giving free fish to monstrous wolves _later_.

* * *

Tom's morning routine was the same as it always was: wake up, get dressed, grab any specific fishing equipment that he'd need that wasn't already on his father's small sailboat, and make his way to the docks.

He'd long ago stopped being afraid of the dark, whether he was simply walking down to the docks at three a.m. or starting the first fishing session of the day, the only thing to guide him on the water being the stars in the sky and his little lantern.

Tom was well acquainted with the guards and other workers that also got up and worked at the same ungodly hours as he did, so he felt no fear of being stalked by any creepy individual or predatory pervert.

There weren't many people in Theramore that were like that anyway, but even if there _were_ people like that, he knew that the city guards were never too far away to call upon for help (and if they weren't, he kept a knife on him, _just_ in case).

Even as Theramore joined the Horde and had slowly started to allow other races of the Horde into the city, he'd still felt no reason to be afraid at night. Sure, there were slightly more people walking around at night than there had been before, but Tom quickly grew accustomed to the new faces. Though he did not know their names, nor did he know enough orcish to communicate with any of them, he could still recognise the individual faces of orcs, trolls and tauren that worked very late at night or very early in the morning.

Sometimes, he would get doubts about some people's motives, or at times he would become a little bit nervous, but he reminded himself that he was now apart of the _very same faction_ as they were.

That morning, though, he felt that something wasn't quite right.

He walked to the docks with the eerie feeling that something was hovering behind him...like he was being watched, or _stalked_.

As his heart quickened, so did his pace. As much as his job metaphorically took the life out of him with every day that passed, he'd rather live in his current conditions for the rest of his miserable life than have the _literal_ life taken out of him by some creepy bastard in an alleyway.

Tom walked around a corner, to a more open area of the city, so that if anything _was_ following him, they would be deterred from doing anything to him in such a public place.

Even if it _was_ three in the morning.

He still felt like something was following him, but the thought of looking back to see what was there filled him with dread. What if he saw something that he shouldn't? What if he saw _Something_ that couldn't be explained?

He'd heard the old, secret fisherman's tales of indescribable beings of flesh and void that surfaced from beneath the water, whispering all sorts of horrors into the ears of sailors before they succumbed to insanity, drowning themselves in despair.

He'd also heard that these tales were some sort of half-truths of encounters with the Old Gods, and if that was the case, he did _not_ want to become one of those insane drowned sailors, so the best thing for him was to _not look behind him_.

It worked for all of ten seconds when he heard the sound of _deep_ , loud breathing behind him. He dropped everything he was holding, and booked it as faster than he'd ever thought possible.

He heard loud thumping noises behind him as well, _chasing_ after him, and if he wasn't so terrified out of his goddamn mind, maybe he would've screamed. The idea to call out for help popped up in his head, but the fear that coursed through his body prevented him from doing anything else besides running for his life.

And boy, did Tom run _fast_. He didn't think himself capable of running particularly fast, especially given that he was so accustomed to the wobbling waves of the sea and had perpetual _sea legs_ , but he was _really_ glad to know that his body was capable of keeping him alive in dire situations. Such as the one he found himself in now.

For a few moments, Tom actually thought he might've gotten away from whatever had been chasing him, until it ran _in front of him_ , stopping him right in his tracks.

He screamed.

He quickly stopped screaming once he realised what he was looking at.

The light from a nearby streetlamp was the only thing illuminating the beast that was in front of him, and when he could finally see the _details_ of it, he almost face-palmed.

It was the bloody _wolf!_

Tom leaned against a nearby house's wall to pant and exhale a sigh of _relief_. He thought he was being chased by some _eldritch horror_ , not a fish-obsessed wolf. Though, now that he thought about it, maybe being chased by a _wolf_ was not such a good outcome, either. He could've been activating its prey drive by running away, and if it was _truly_ hungry...there really would've been nothing stopping it from killing and eating him.

He took another look at the wolf that had sat in front of him, and it _seemed_ like she wasn't trying to actively hunt him. At least...he _hoped_ so.

"I'm sorry Wolfy, but I don't 'ave any fish on me right now. 'Aven't caught none, yet."

Tom reached his arms out towards the wolf to let her sniff his hands, and as she did so, she seemed to understand that he had no fish on him. He did have an overall sea water smell to his body, but any fishy scents that he had on him were dull, and obviously from the day before.

"Go on now...shoo! I've got work to do" He said, motioning with his hands for her to _go away_. He _really_ couldn't be wasting any time if he wanted to be bringing in enough money for him and his father.

The wolf only seemed to follow him, though, as he doubled back where he came from to grab all the stuff he had unceremoniously _tossed_ when he'd thought he was going to die. She sniffed some of the items that were strewn about, hoping that maybe his pack would contain fish, but they smelled exactly as he did: salty, but not fishy.

To Tom, it seemed as though the wolf had finally lost interest in him once she had thoroughly sniffed both him and every object that he was carrying and holding, but as he continued his way down to the docks, she _still_ followed him, like a lost puppy.

The wolf seemed far from lost, and she was by no means a puppy, but she was definitely _following_ him. No amount of 'shooing' would get her to leave him alone, either.

He was stuck with her.

* * *

Tom was glad when he finally reached the docks, because it meant that he would finally be able to enjoy some time by himself, without the gruff criticisms of his father, or the too-curious sniffing and _nipping_ of the white wolf that wouldn't leave him alone.

That didn't mean, however, that it was going to be easy for him to go out onto the water.

He'd jumped into the small, red sailboat and put down all of his equipment as he started to put the sail up and bring the anchor back up from the water. He was about to untie the boat from the dock when he heard a whining sound coming from the wooden platform close to the boat.

The wolf was whining and huffing at him, and she leaned down to put a huge paw into the water, splashing at it.

She wanted to go with him

"Oh, like _hell_ ye coming with _me_ , pup! Ye too bloody heavy! I'll be back in a couple hours, and ye can 'ave some fish then, alright? Just be a good wolf and stay there, **_please_ ** . Don't come swimming after me for the _love_ o' _Light_."

He untied the boat from the wooden pole rising up from the water. She whined again, and continued to splash the water, this time with more gusto. 

"Stop that! I said ye can't come with!"

The wolf wiggled it's body and got into a crouched position. Tom thought this was rather cute for a few seconds, until he realised what she was doing.

She was preparing to _jump_.

Onto his _boat_.

" ** _Don't_ ** ye dare, ye little _shite_!

Quickly, Tom grabbed a spare paddle he had on the sailboat and reached over to whack the wolf with it. He _really_ didn't want to whack her, but he also _really_ didn't want the boat to be tipped over by the massive weight of the wolf, either.

It barely registered as pain to her, given that she was built like a mountain, but it was enough to get her to understand that she could _not_ come with him.

" ** _Stay_ ** here. I'll be back, Wolfy."

And with that, Tom was off.

* * *

Several hours passed before Tom returned to the dock with a boatful of fish, and to his complete and utter amazement, the wolf was _still there_ when he'd arrived.

He couldn't believe that the wolf had seriously sat there for _hours_ just for a couple of bloody fish.

Deep within his mind, he was incredibly impressed at the amount of _patience_ she had.

When Tom managed to get the boat properly docked, and started to unload all the fish into a cart, he looked over to the wolf who was sitting close by, focused as ever.

What his father didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Tom walked up to the wolf to give her a few really good pets behind the ears and under her chin like he had last time, and he laughed a bit as the wolf sniffed his hair.

"Alright, alright. 'Ere, I'll give ye a few fish to make up for me whacking ye with me paddle."

He went over to the cart and grabbed two fish, and threw them over to the waiting wolf. She caught them in her mouth, but she didn't leave immediately like he thought she would. She walked up to him again, and put her head underneath his hanging arm.

She wanted more pets.

Tom smiled and scratched her for a few more minutes before both of them had to leave.

"See ye 'round then, Wolfy!"

The wolf trotted off with two fish hanging out her mouth, as Tom pushed the cart up to the market.

Hopefully the next time they saw each other, she wouldn't try to con him out of his fish with her fluffiness.

* * *

When the orc had woken up in the morning, he'd nearly had a heart attack.

Usually, he woke up with Kal by his side, huffing at him to take her on a walk, give her breakfast and wrestle with her. But that morning, he'd woken up to a wolf that was _gone_ and a front door that was _wide open_.

 _By my axe, she's_ **_escaped_** _!_

He was truly panicking, much more than he had been when she'd decided to run off the day before. Then, she'd only decided to walk down a different alleyway than he did, which caused him to lose her. Her snaking her way through Theramore's alleyways and streets like she'd lived there her entire life definitely didn't help matters.

This time, however, it seemed that she'd straight up _barged_ out the house, instead. Either that, or he'd forgotten to lock the door, which he _hoped_ that was the case.

He took a second to investigate the lock and hinges on the door to see if they were broken, and was relieved to find that the door had simply been unlocked all night.

At least he wouldn't have to deal with the predicament of a wolf that knew how to _escape_.

He had another predicament, though: finding Kal.

Again.

He knew Kal like the blade of his axe, and if Kal was _anywhere_ , she would be where the fish were at, and that would either be at the docks, or at the market. He decided he'd go down to the docks first, as it was a bit too early for the market to be open yet.

He didn't make it that far, as when he turned the corner of one of the buildings, he ran straight _into_ Kal, who had _two_ fish in her mouth this time around.

He sighed out of exasperation.

"Kal...what the hell were you _doing_? You're going to make my heart stop, one day."

Kal wagged her tail and bumped her snout against his hand. He gave in to her demands, and gave her a few scratches.

"You're a menace."

She made an undignified huffing noise at him, and he chuckled.

"One day I'll have to figure out where you're getting all that fish from. There's no way you're catching that _all_ by yourself."

Kal only looked at him patiently, as if waiting for him to give her a command.

"Come on. Let's go for a walk."

She perked her ears up and followed behind the orc, prancing down the street with the fish flopping up and down in her mouth as she did so.

He'd figure out who was giving his wolf free fish later. For now, he was content to enjoy the cool morning breeze with his companion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The Fluffiest of Durotar- is Kal'Grok's official title, given to her by the denizens of Orgrimmar : )


	3. Unfounded Beliefs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom hasn't seen the wolf in a while, and the owner of said wolf decides to go and investigate to see where all these fish that Kal has are coming from…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long for me to finish this chapter! I had surgery last month and the recovery was awful so I took a bit of a break. I also live in Australia, and with the recent horrific fires plagueing my mind and the smoke invading my lungs I've not had time to focus on writing as of late. I only got this done because I had no internet for an entire day lmao. I hope this is okay! Also, a big thanks to Windwyrm here on Ao3 for helping me with the grammar and wording of this chapter!

It had been a week since Tom had seen the white wolf walking around the docks.

Usually he paid no mind to who he did or did not see around Theramore, as people came and went all the time to see family, check up on the businesses that they’d invested into, or simply to have a beer at the pub with some old mates. He saw all sorts of individuals come and go, and for the most part, Tom didn’t give a shite. But humans- no, _people_ were not one thousand pound wolves, and Tom felt a bit alarmed that he’d not seen her around lately.

He hated to admit it, but he’d started to actually like that wolf. For him, animals were just far more easy to understand and get along with than people were. They didn’t lie or cheat, they had a strong loyalty to their masters that could outmatch the loyalty of any human or orc, and most importantly, they did not judge anyone based on who they were or what they looked like. If they judged anyone, it was by smell. And Tom liked to think he smelled rather nice.

Well...maybe to a wolf, perhaps. He was sure no lady or gent would enjoy being in the presence of someone who constantly smelled of seawater and _fish_. Either way, that wolf had not seemed to care that he was human, and he’d grown fond of her despite only having seen her a few times. He hoped that she was alright, and that she’d just been in other parts of Theramore, or perhaps had simply moved away with her master.

He couldn’t dwell on it for too long though, as the sun would rise in a few hours and the citizens of Theramore with it. He needed to get ready, as he had a long day of work ahead of him. It would be just another day in the hundreds he’d spent fishing the area. Sometimes he wondered how the local populations of fish survived with just how much fishing he and the others did. He guessed that was probably why there were regulations put in place for what fish you could catch each day.

_Sharks gotta eat too, I guess._

Tom was about to start getting dressed when he heard footsteps coming from the living room.

His father couldn’t _possibly_ be awake at three a.m. He knew that he sometimes had trouble getting to sleep, or even staying asleep once he'd managed to doze off, but for his father to be awake at such an hour was _absurd_ . He was getting on in his years and spent most of his free time guzzling down a drink or sleeping, sometimes _both_. He wouldn’t dare get up if could help it.

Which meant that maybe something wasn’t quite right.

Tom grabbed the little fish-gutting knife that was on his bedside table, and silently opened his bedroom door to peer his head out and have a look, and was relieved to find that it was in fact just his father, and not some burglar trying to nick a family heirloom.

He quickly put the knife away, and went back into his room to grab his lantern, and lit it. He put all of his work clothes on, and double checked his bag to make sure he had everything he needed. The rest of the equipment he’d need was already stored on the little red sailboat, so he wouldn’t have to be carrying any large nets with him any time soon, until his current one ripped and was made unusable. He would usually make a cup of tea on the fire in the kitchen, if his father was asleep, but if he tried that _now_ when he was awake, Tom would just be lectured about how he was wasting time that could be used to walk to the docks. He did not want to be dealing with his father's ire right now, _especially_ not today, noting that his father had been getting more and more irritable as the week went by.

He could drink some tea when he got home.

He walked out of his room and grabbed the thick, navy blue jacket that hung by the front door, and was just about to walk out of the house when his father stopped him.

"Thomas!"

He froze and slowly turned around. "Yes, father?"

"Don't ye be going out talking to no orcs, ye hear me boy?"

Tom looked a bit confused at the suddenness of the request. "Um...o' course not, father. What's brought this up?"

His father just sighed and grumbled. "Been 'aving trouble with some rude arse orcs and trolls at the fish stall….they’re all up to no good, I tell ye. I’d suggest ye stay _far_ away from any orc, troll or tauren that ye come across. They’ll only give ye trouble, and I doubt those orc-loving guards will come to ye defense if they do somethin' nasty to ye. They’ll probably think ye be the instigator, if anything! So ye stay far away from them. Don't want me son ending up dead in the street."

Tom just nodded in confusion. "Uhh...yeah. O' course, father. I...won't be doin' none o' that, I promise."

"Alright then. Now, get a move on! Ye got work to do!"

Tom nodded again and rushed out the front door before his father could chastise him for being late to work or continue his _very_ questionable rant. He’d really rather not entertain those sort of thoughts from his father if he could help it, and he was almost glad that for the most part, he never saw his father except for the few moments during the day when he was ressupplying the stall with fresh fish. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with his father’s shite for any longer than 5 minutes.

As for his father’s request…

_I think I can tell apart a sketchy character from a trustworthy one for meself, thanks, ye old geezer._

Although Thomas had never spoken to an orc, tauren or troll before, he knew they weren’t as bad as his father thought them to be. He’d never had any trouble with any of the other Horde members before, and he remembered when a week ago at the fish stall, when the wolf had been begging for a fish, that a nearby orc had smiled at him. It hadn’t been an evil grin, or a smile that was supposed to demonstrate their menacing, sharp teeth at him. It had been an honest, genuine smile.

Tom didn’t think that anyone that was even _slightly_ sketchy was capable of pulling off such a charming smile.

_Sod off with yer bigotry, old bean. I’ll talk to whatever orc or troll I feel like._

* * *

He’d been thankful that when he’d woken up in the morning, that it hadn’t been a stressful one. Kal’Grok was still laying by his bed when he eventually got up, and what was more relieving, was that she was still asleep.

He didn’t know why she’d stopped running off when he wasn’t looking, but he put it down to the fact that Kal was still trying to learn the landscape of Theramore, and had finally been able to sate her curiosity after a while.

The past week had gone as smoothly as it possibly could have. The hunts he’d ventured on had proven to be fruitful, and he was not only able to provide food for himself and Kal, but was also able to make some gold off of the furs and extra meat that was left over. He was in quite a good mood, and with it being a day off for him, he decided he’d go out to sate his _own_ curiosity, for once.

He was going to figure out who had been giving Kal free fish.

Maybe he’d make a new friend, and perhaps he could even pay the person back for their troubles.

He leaned down and gently shook Kal awake. “Come one, time to get up. We’re going for a walk.” The moment that she heard the word 'walk', Kal’s ears perked up and she quickly hopped up into a standing position, almost as if she hadn’t even been asleep. She stretched her legs and body, and then sat near the front door, patiently waiting for her master to get ready.

Soon enough, he stepped out into the fresh morning breeze, Kal close behind him. He looked over to her, and urged her to walk ahead of him. “Go on, show me where you got those fish. You’ve got my permission to wander wherever you like, this time.”

Kal just looked at him like she hadn’t heard anything he'd said, and only started walking when he did. She eventually understood after a few tries of his master to get her to go in front of her that _she_ was meant to be leading the walk, this time.

She started her trot down the streets of Theramore, looking behind herself every minute or so to make sure her master was still behind her, following along. She let her nose guide her towards the busy market where all the nice smelling food was, hoping she could get some fish from the small creature that gave her nice pets.

She made sure to smell everything else that was in her path as well, including the legs and hands of a troll woman who had walked by. She gave the wolf some scratches behind the ear, and spoke to her master for a few minutes before Kal decided she was done waiting, and bolted off towards the market. Her master quickly ended the conversation and followed suit.

They finally made it to the market, where Kal decided to start sniffing absolutely everything she could see: meat, fruit, weapons and armour, people and their very interesting bags, and their hands and legs and _feet_ , if they were available. Most of the smaller creatures cowered before her, but the more familiar and bigger creatures welcomed her presence. Her master scolded her when she sniffed a woman’s purse, telling her to leave it, even though it smelled _really_ good.

She could smell the fish on the other side of the market, but was far more interested in the other scents that she hadn’t paid attention to the last time she’d been there.

Her master started talking to one of his own kind as she sniffed somebody's axe.

“Have you seen where my wolf Kal has gone to get fish? I’ve never actually been able to figure out where she’s gotten them from. She just shows up at home with fish in her mouth.”

The other orc laughed. “Yes, I’ve seen where she’s gone. There’s a fish stall that way-” the warrior pointed towards a far away stall that he could just barely see in the distance, “-that’s run by a human. Last I saw, she left that stall with a fish in her mouth. She got lots of _pets_ from that human as well, from what I heard.” He raised his eyebrow at that. “Huh...interesting. Thanks for the information.” He looked over to his wolf, who’d been growling and huffing at a cat that was high up on a ledge, hissing at her. “Kal, come! Leave that cat alone.” Kal whipped her head around to look at her master and hesitantly left the cat alone at her master’s request.

They walked over towards the fish stall, and as it came into view, he was able to see an older human man hunched over the stall slightly. The human looked like he’d not slept in over a thousand years, and like he was about to snap at the next person that annoyed him.

He thinks that there’s no way that a human that looks like _that_ would give free fish to _anyone_ , let alone to a wolf.

He sighed and considered the possibility of the man simply having a tough exterior, but in reality is a softy when it came to animals. Hell, he knew many _orcs_ who were like that, there was no reason why this human man couldn't.

He quickly pulled his thoughts together and walked up to the stall, trying not to seem too intimidating. Beside him, Kal is wagging her tail at the prospect of getting some fish for breakfast. He truly hoped that this was the right man, and the right fish stall.

“Excuse me, sir...you wouldn’t happen to be the one who’s been giving Kal here free fish, have you?”

The human looks him dead in the eye with a look that might’ve made him retreat had it been coming from another orc. Subconsciously he stands his ground as the human speaks. “No. I ‘aven’t. I wouldn’t give free fish to no one, especially not to some _green-skin_ and his feral dog. Don’t know where ye got _that_ bloody idea from...”

He was completely shocked, and _confused_ rather than angry that a human would actually say that to his face. Usually humans were more petty and passive aggressive than outwardly _rude._

Around him, the people that’d heard the human’s vile words had become quiet, and looked over toward the two men. Beside the man running the fish stall was another stall, run by a woman who was a little bit shorter. She looked very concerned, and whispered over to other human. “Alfred, you can’t say shit like _that_ !” The man, apparently named Alfred, looked over at her with the same expression shown toward the orc. “Oh, and why the bloody hell not?” The woman looked exasperated at his response. “You know damn well why! You just _can’t_!” Alfred grumbled and looked back to the orc in front of him. He said nothing for a few moments, just staring at the orc with a look of displeasure.

“Leave. Yer driving away other well paying customers.”

He almost didn't want to leave, if only to piss off the human even more, but in his peripheral vision, he is able to see some guards who have been alerted to the situation, who are staring right at him.

They’re waiting for him to make a move, and he decides he doesn’t want to get into _any_ sort of altercation with the city guards. All fights that have happened between humans and orcs within the city walls has only served to make the relationship with Theramore and the rest of the Horde more shaky and unstable, so most do their best to not offend one another or get into any racially charged fights. It’s worked well so far, and he doesn’t want to cause a situation that will have major consequences over some _fish_ , so he decides that he _will,_ in fact, leave.

Through clenched teeth and tusks, he bids the man farewell. The man scoffs at him.

He doesn’t bother to look behind him to see if the guards have stopped staring at him or not, and only does so a few seconds later to ensure that Kal is actually following him.

* * *

The orc is frustrated that he's left the market with no more information than when he'd arrived, and that he’d also been put in a rather _sour_ mood, to boot. He thinks to himself that he’s going to need to let off all of this steam before he snaps at someone who doesn’t deserve his ire, and decides he’ll go meet up with a friend he can spar with and vent his frustrations to.

He had definitely been right about one thing, that man had _not_ been giving Kal fish. So...either somebody else worked at that fish stall as well, or the orcish woman he’d spoken to had either lied to him or had questionable memory.

He liked to believe that the woman had been speaking the truth. It never did any good to expect the worst of people, so he liked to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they gave him a reason to assume the worst.

Someone else had to have been giving Kal fish. It was the only explanation.

Either way, to him it didn’t matter anymore. He was in a foul mood and didn’t want to think about the morning’s events for even a second longer.

As he turned a tight, narrow corner, his hip was painfully smashed into by a wooden cart, filled to the brim with a large pile of fish.

“Aw shite! Ahm _so_ fockin' sorreh!”

Before the orc was a much younger, tanned and freckled human, who just barely came up to his chest. The man’s dirty blond hair was short and curly, and was currently mussed up by the wind, falling in front of his face. His brown eyes looked up at him apologetically. “So sorreh ‘bout that, mate. Ah didn’t see ye there!”

He looked down at the fish, and back up at the human. He looked somewhat similar to the older human that’d insulted him earlier, only younger and less angry looking.

His thoughts were interrupted by Kal trotting over to the human and sniffing and _licking_ at his face. The human laughed and gently pushed Kal’s snout away from his face. “There ye are, ye silly wolf! Been wonderin’ where ye’ve been off tae!”

Oh. It was _him_ that'd been giving Kal fish.

Well, that certainly made much more sense.

“I’m assuming you’re the one that’s been giving Kal the fish that she’s been randomly showing up with?” He questioned. The human suddenly looked guilty. “Aye...ah ‘ave been...hope ye not mad or anythin’ o’ the sort. She’s just vereh persistent and ah’ve not ‘ad the heart tae turn her aweh.”

The orc almost couldn’t understand the human’s Common because of his very thick, odd sounding accent. “Sorry I’m...having a hard time understanding you.”

The human let out a laugh.

“Oh, quite sorry! I know me accent’s quite thick. I’m from northern Kul’Tiras, and I was mostly raised by me dwarven aunt and uncle, so me accent’s all over the place. I’ll try tae tone it down a lil’ bit, but no promises!”

The human’s accent was still very noticeable, but at least he was able to understand him now. “I have no problems with Kal being given fish by anyone, I was simply curious as to _who_ was doing it. She’ll just wander off and a few hours later come back with a fish or two in her mouth. She’s a bit mischievous, though I’m sure you probably already know at this point.”

The smaller man suddenly perked up, and spoke more confidently than he’d ever heard a human speak before. “Do I ever! Could ye believe that she followed me all the way tae the docks at _three in the mornin’_? She followed me, and then tried tae jump in me bloody sailboat when I was ‘bout to leave! I went fishin', came back a few hours later and she was _still_ there, waitin’ for me!” The human said, amusement clear in his voice.

The orc burst out into laughter. The human couldn’t help laughing along with him.

“Oh, I don’t doubt you for one bit. She’s done worse, unfortunately.”

“Has she, now? Can’t imagine all the other mischievous things she’s done! Ay there, girl?” The human turned his attention to Kal and started petting her thick, white fur. His entire hand and half of his arm got lost in the wolf’s mane as he attempted to scratch her neck. Kal closed her eyes in contentment.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, didn’t catch ye name!”

The orc smiled and pet Kal along with the human. “My name is Korgah, and my wolf’s name is Kal’Grok. Uh...the rough translation of _her_ name into common would be...Bone Crusher.”

The human grinned, this time. “What a fitting name for a wolf! And...the translation of _yer_ name?”

“Untranslatable, as I’ve learned.”

“Ahhh...I see. Well, me name is Thomas. Thomas Wesley, though ye can just call me Tom, for short.” Tom held out his hand for a handshake, and Korgah hesitated for a small second, before he encapsulated the human’s hand in his own. “Throm’ka, Thomas Wesley.” Tom looked a bit confused, not knowing what he'd said. “It’s an Orcish greeting. It means ‘Well met’." Korgah explained. Tom’s confused expression quickly changed to one of understanding. “Oh! Well, Throm’ka tae you as well then, Korgah!” They shook each other’s hands, and Tom couldn't help but notice how incredibly massive Korgah’s hand was in comparison to his. His own hand could barely wrap around _one_ finger, and his entire arm could easily be crushed in an instant, if Korgah chose to do so. And yet, the orc's grip was as gentle as ever.

“Well...I’ve got tae go now. If I’m late me father will _kill_ me! Ye know how it is; no rest for the wicked!" Tom started pushing his cart again to leave, but quickly stopped and backed up after only a few seconds. "Oh, I forgot tae ask ye, is it alright if I give Kal some fish? Trust me, ye gonna have yeself a hard time tryin' tae get any fish from me father! Better now than later, if ye know what I mean."

Korgah considered it for a few moments before he nodded in agreement. "I can only assume that your father is the human working at the fish stall that called me a _green-skin_ earlier?" He questioned, watching Tom as he picked out the perfect specimens of fish for Kal. Tom stopped in the middle of picking up a trout, his expression changing in an instant. "Oh, bloody hell, he didn't _really_ , did he? He really said that tae ye?" Korgah hummed in confirmation, his expression becoming grim. "Mate, I'm **_so_ ** bloody sorry. He shouldn't 'ave said that tae ye. That's bloody awful…"

The were both silent for a few moments, Tom seemingly deep in thought before he started to speak once more. "Ye know what, I'll make it up tae ye. Since me father was such a prick tae ye, I'll give ye _four_ fish; two for yerself and two for Kal! How's that sound, ay?" He said, lifting up for fish in his hands. Korgah seemed quite surprised. "Oh..I'm not sure that's necessary-" Tom interrupted the orc by shoving two fish in his hands, and throwing the other two in Kal's mouth. " _Please_. Consider it an apology. Me father may be a prick, but I'm not, and I want tae apologise on behalf of me father, since I know _he_ ain't gonna apologise any time soon."

Korgah looked at the fish in his hands, at the ones in Kal's mouth, and then back to Tom again. He wasn't sure if he should accept the fish or not, as he wasn't well versed enough in everyday human interactions to know if this was 'normal.' He wasn't sure how he felt about being apologised to on _behalf_ of someone else, as orcs didn't do that for each other, but Korgah would simply have to accept that this must be the cultural norm for humans, no matter how _weird_ it might've seemed to him. 

"Um….thank you..?" He said, unsure if thanking the human was appropriate in this instance. Tom smiled at him though, so he had to assume it was fine. "No worries, mate! And, ye know...if ye _do_ want more fish in the future, I suggest comin' 'round when me father's not the one mannin' the stall. I don't do it very often, but there _are_ a few rare times when I'm the one sellin' the fish instead. I promise ye, I'm much more polite than he is!" Not that Korgah needed any convincing of Tom's politeness, though it was good to know he could perhaps still pay the human back for all the fish that Kal had conned out of him. "I hope to see _you_ in the market then, instead of your father. Kal seems to like you more, anyway."

Tom laughed again, and gave Kal a few more pets before gripping the handle of his cart. "Well...hope tae see ye around Korgah! Unfortunately I got lots more fishin' to be doin' today so I can't hang 'round. Cheers!" He gave Korgah a little wave before he started to hurriedly push his fish-filled cart up towards the market, leaving Korgah there with two fish in his hands. His slight confusion was interrupted by Kal attempting to follow the human back into the market, before Korgah called her back.

"What a strange little man. Though I'm not sure _you_ care about that, do you? Little rascal." He said to Kal, who looked _very_ pleased with the fish she had received. Korgah just chuckled and turned back around, trying to remember what he had been doing before the human had accidentally smashed into him.

_Ah, yes. Sparring with Hau'ne to get rid of my bad mood._

A bad mood which he no longer had, surprisingly.

It didn't mean he still couldn't go visit his Tauren friend to at least talk, and maybe have some fish together for breakfast.

"Come on, Kal. Wanna go show Hau'ne your fish?"

Kal's tail started to wag fast at the thought of that. She growled deeply in excitement, fish still gripped in her jaws.

"RrrruuuUUUuuuooooo!"

Korgah laughed as Kal started to lead the way.

* * *

It had taken Tom only a couple of minutes to unload the fish from the cart onto the stall where they were to be sold. He'd shared a few words with his father but nothing more than that; his father was too distracted by his thoughts to really pay attention to anything Tom was saying.

 _I can only take a guess as to what_ **_he's_ ** _thinking 'bout. Bet Korgah stood his ground and embarrassed the hell out of ye! Serves ye right._

Tom had quickly went back to the sail boat with his now empty cart after he was done, and along the way he started thinking about the orc he'd spoken with earlier.

The conversation had been pleasant, and although Korgah had had trouble understanding him at times, it had gone surprisingly well.

It went entirely different to how his _father_ thought such a conversation would go. The orc had given him no trouble whatsoever, and when they had shaken hands his grip had been gentler than most _human's_ that he'd experienced. The situation had gone in the _literal opposite_ direction of what his father thought, and Tom could only come to the conclusion that his father was completely and utterly delusional.

_I don't have tae listen tae anythin' me father says. As long as he doesn't catch me disobeying him, I'll be fine._

Tom would make sure of it.


End file.
